


Locked In Symmetry

by reversecow



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, M/M, Pining, Sexual Tension, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Workplace Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:53:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22062121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reversecow/pseuds/reversecow
Summary: Ashton's had his soulmate's first words to him written on his arm since he was 18, but he hasn't met him yet. When Luke is hired for a month long internship at his music magazine, the company's strict policy against employee relationships proves to be a huge thorn in his side.
Relationships: Luke Hemmings/Ashton Irwin, Michael Clifford/Calum Hood
Comments: 12
Kudos: 176





	Locked In Symmetry

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Black and White by Dreamers

Ashton got his soulmark when he was 18. He remembers thinking this was late, wondering why he hadn’t gotten his yet when his sister got hers at the age of six. He remembers thinking there was no way that Lauren had become Fully and Authentically Herself before he had, but there was no way he was going to go complain to his mom about it. She didn’t have one. Ashton remembers asking her about it when he was young, asking why she didn’t have her soulmate’s first words to her inked somewhere on her body, and she’d smiled sadly and told him that she wasn’t sure. He learned about soulmark origins in school that year, about how they appear once a person has become Fully and Authentically Themselves, and he thought about how his mother always seemed a little lost inside.

Ashton woke up three months and sixteen days after his eighteenth birthday with the words “ _ Anything for you, sir _ ” tattooed in beautiful script on his right bicep, and he spent the morning marveling at it, tracing it with his index finger and trying to decide what it meant. Something about the word ‘sir’ made him puff up a little in pride, the idea that maybe sometime in the future he was important enough to be regarded as ‘sir’ to somebody. He was already motivated to succeed; growing up with a single mother struggling to make ends meet had lit a fire under him and he was well on his way to achieving his dream of working behind the scenes in the music industry.

Eight years later, Ashton is the editor in chief of a thriving online music magazine, respected and praised for his innovative promotion of trending artists and his eye for up and coming new faces. His house is small but clean and cozy, he has a few close and trusted friends and he loves his work more than anything. He hasn’t met his soulmate yet, but he stays patient. He knows the right person will come to him at the right time, and when they do, everything will fall perfectly into place, just like it's meant to.

\----------

“Hey, boss.” Calum’s leaning against Ashton’s office door frame, bouncing a yoyo casually in his hand. 

“Hey, Cal,” Ashton responds without looking up, preoccupied with the article he’s formatting. 

“How’s it feel knowing you’re getting your very own bitch in just a few short minutes?” Calum asks, spinning the yoyo quickly and making an excited face before groaning when it gets tangled and stuck at his feet. 

Ashton raises his eyebrows as he watches Calum reel in the yoyo by the string and work to carefully untangle it, “Is it not degrading to call this new guy my bitch when that was your position last week?”

“Last week was years ago,” Calum scoffs, pulling at the string with a look of utmost concentration on his face, “I do hope he’s cute though, we could use some eye candy around here.”

Ashton frowns at this, “Hey! I‘m eye candy!”

Calum tilts his head from side to side, examining Ashton before responding, “Yeah, but you’re pretentious. It subtracts points from your overall score.”

Ashton’s mouth drops open and he makes an outraged noise, “What’s my score?” He shakes his head, “No, actually, I don't need you to score me. You’re  _ Calum.  _ Hey, maybe this guy will be your soulmate. Then you’ll have something to occupy your time instead of bothering me all day!” 

Calum makes a face, “I hope not.”

Calum has never told Ashton what his soulmark says. All Ashton knows is that it’s on his inner left thigh and it’s terrible. Apparently Calum got it when he was only two years old and cried all day. He’s tried to wheedle information out of Calum before but he’s always just met with a grimace and the assurance that whoever Calum’s soulmate is, they’re a monster. 

“Are you ever going to tell me what it says?” He pesters Calum, “It can’t be that bad.”

“It’s _ terrible,”  _ Calum tells him solemnly. 

Ashton shakes his head, “Life is a mystery. You never truly know what something means, especially not a soulmark before the meeting’s happened.”

“Okay, Aristotle,” Calum rolls his eyes. Ashton frowns and flips him off, just as a loud buzzing noise sounds from outside his door.

“Oh, that’s him! I’m gonna go greet him and have him sign his docs and then I'll bring him in to say hi!” Calum chirps before saluting Ashton and disappearing. 

Ashton waves him off and returns his focus to his work, not giving much thought to the intern Calum's meeting. He's only been hired on for a month program to give him school credit and generally, with the exception of Calum, the students in his position didn’t stay in the company after their month was up. This new guy would most likely be similar to the rest, and Ashton was a little too busy to meet him at the front desk with Calum at the moment. 

He’s lost in his computer screen for fifteen minutes or so before Calum knocking on his door frame loudly and poking his head into the office again interrupts his train of thought. 

“Hey Ashton, this is Luke,” Calum chirps, and a boy peers into Ashton’s office from behind Calum, shyly waving at him. He’s tall and he stands slightly pigeon toed, and Ashton finds himself smiling at the boy immediately, drawn to the way his blue eyes light up at the recognition from Ashton and his pink lips curve into a gentle smile. 

“Luke, this is Ashton,” Calum continues, and then raises his eyebrows, directing his next words to Ashton again, “He’s your new personal assistant and he’s very blond and nice, please take it easy on him.” He turns his head back to Luke, “Ash can be a toughie sometimes but he’s a marshmallow really.”

Ashton smirks and breaks his silence, standing up from his desk and starting to cross the room. “Careful, I’ll push you to your limits,” he tells Luke, extending his arm for a handshake, at the same time Luke hastily moves his welcoming folder from his right hand to his left, reaching out to Ashton and saying, “I’ll do anything for you, sir.”

Ashton freezes where he stands and his eyes go wide, matching Luke’s expression, who’s staring at him in awe, both their hands still outstretched but not quite touching. From this vantage point Ashton can see the freckles on Luke’s face, the slope of his nose, the pink of his cheeks when he blinks softly at Ashton. He’s beautiful, sweet and unassuming, and Ashton exhales a shaky breath as he stares at Luke, his eyes drawn to him like a magnet.

“Anywaaays,” Calum says slowly “I’m gonna show Luke around real quick,” he jerks his head towards the rest of the office, and Ashton nods, his eyes not leaving Luke’s, “Then I'll bring him back in so you can get started on whatever?” He doesn’t wait for Ashton to respond, ushering Luke out of the office to introduce him to the rest of the staff and show him around. Luke goes with him easily, breaking his eye contact with Ashton, who finds himself wishing he could walk with them, fall in step with Luke and never stop.

Instead, he trudges back to his desk chair and falls into it, his mind racing. His  _ soulmate.  _ His soulmate is his personal assistant for the next month. He’s tall, and blond and shy, and his voice is like springtime, and his name is  _ Luke.  _ Luke, who is completely, totally and without exception, off limits for the duration of his employment at the company. Ashton groans and crumples up a piece of scrap paper on his desk just so he can throw it away bitterly. It’s one hundred percent against company policy to have an intimate relationship with a coworker. He knows this, everyone knows this. Luke probably knows this, as it’s very well outlined in the welcoming papers he’s clutching in his left hand right now. 

There’s truly nothing that can be done, nothing that can happen between them, Ashton decides, until Luke’s month is up. He’s worked too hard to be where he is now, and Luke’s credits could be withdrawn if the company were to find out he violated his contract. No matter how drawn he is to Luke, he can’t, he won't act on anything. 

He’s staring miserably at a stack of colorful post-its on his desk when he hears a voice from the doorway.

“Sir?”

He lifts his eyes to see Luke standing just outside, a hesitant look on his face. Ashton melts in spite of himself and gestures for Luke to enter. 

“Hey, come in,” he mutters. Luke walks into the office and takes a seat on the chair opposite Ashton, his eyes glued to his feet and his cheeks slightly pink. 

It’s silent for a moment before Ashton clears his throat. “So,” he starts, and Luke’s eyes snap up to meet his.

“I’ve, um, started working on a new project,” Ashton starts, and he regretfully watches a little bit of hope leave Luke’s eyes, but he continues on, “We’re covering this new band who started out in Seattle and has been getting a lot of local radio play, we’re hoping to help boost their numbers and give them a little push into the big leagues with this. Have you heard of Hey Violet?”

Luke shakes his head and blinks unassumingly, “No sir, I haven’t.”

“Okay,” Ashton says, defiantly ignoring the flutter he feels in his stomach when Luke calls him sir, “I’m going to have you read over this dossier so you have an understanding of what you’ll be helping with in case I need you.” He pauses and takes a deep breath, regretting his word choice when Luke bites his lip and blinks again. “Uh, to help. In case I need you to help with editing. Most likely that won’t be necessary, but I’d like you to be informed.”

Luke nods, taking the folder Ashton hands him and balancing it on his lap, “Yes, sir,” he says quietly. He flips to the first page and starts reading, taking his lip between his teeth again as he does, and Ashton suppresses a deep sigh at the thought of taking Luke’s lip between his own teeth, licking over it soothingly when Luke whines into his mouth, kissing him soundly to silence him. It would be so easy to lock the office door, talk this through with him, learn to love him. Ashton thinks he’s already halfway there. How could he not be, Luke is his other half, his  _ soulmate,  _ and it’s a cruel joke that there’s nothing Ashton can do or say about it. 

They’re silent for a while, only the rustling of the papers in Luke’s lap disturbing the silence of Ashton’s office, and the unspoken words hanging in the air between them feel as heavy as a down comforter in the summertime, stifling and hot. Ashton finds himself glancing up every few seconds at Luke, entranced by the way Luke’s eyes flit over the words on the paper. He looks back to his computer and the article he’s editing barely holds his attention for more than three seconds before he turns his gaze back to Luke, who’s looking back at him this time. Luke blushes and immediately lowers his gaze back to the dossier. Ashton looks back at his computer and rubs the back of his neck, cursing internally. 

It’s too quiet, his thoughts are racing too fast, and he can’t get anything done in this condition, with Luke sitting across from him, beautiful and untouchable. Ashton saves his article and starts shoveling his belongings into his briefcase. Luke looks up at him questioningly and Ashton clears his throat before he speaks in a tone that he hopes doesn’t sound as scattered as he feels, “So, I think I'm heading out early today.”

Luke nods but doesn’t say anything, and Ashton knows that Luke knows exactly why he’s so eager to leave, and he prays to god Luke doesn’t think he’s done anything wrong. He prays that when the time comes, he’ll have the chance to tell Luke how deserving he is, how much he wants him. How he wanted him from the second he saw him, already feels in his bones he’ll never stop. 

“Um, you can too,” he tells Luke. “Leave early, I mean. “Maybe ask Calum if he has anything else for you before you do. If you’re done reading.”

“Okay,” Luke agrees softly. “I am. Done reading, I mean.”

“Great! That’s great. We’ll talk about it later,” Ashton says, and he’s already walking towards the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow, though. 8:30.”

“Yes, sir,” Luke says dutifully, and Ashton coughs and walks quickly out the door, shaking his head. 

\----------

“Mike, he’s  _ beautiful,”  _ Ashton whines, nursing his Blue Moon sadly. He and Michael are sat at the bar later that night and he’s feeling slightly tipsy, the free peanuts Sam’s offers are tasting better by the minute and he’s munching sadly between sips.

“Of course you think he is, you’re destined to spend forever with him,” Michael shrugs. “Just... not this month.”

“Why  _ not _ this month?” Ashton asks childishly, knowing the answer already, having gone over it a thousand times with himself in his own head. 

“You  _ know _ why,” Michael says gently. “You could get in big trouble for banging an intern, even if you’re fated by the stars.”

Ashton sighs sadly and nods. 

“Pretty wild that your sexy soulmark actually ended up being sexy, though,” Michael ponders. “You’re lucky.” Michael has had the words ‘fuck, I’m stupid’ proudly displayed on his left forearm since he was six years old. His parents had tried desperately to cover it up when it appeared, stuffing him into long sleeved sweaters and covering the mark with band aids during the summertime, concealing it whenever Michael’s grandparents came over for dinner and coaching him not to repeat the words tattooed on his arm in the wrong circles, a task that proved quite difficult. Michael was always quite fond of it though, choosing to wear short sleeves as soon as he was old enough to pick out his own outfits. Ashton had met him in college, they’d shared a few classes and then roomed together their last two years. Ashton can’t remember a day that went by that he saw Michael and didn’t see the mark on his arm. It was his pride and joy. 

“It’s not sexy if I can’t do anything,” Ashton argues with him. 

Michael pops a peanut in his mouth, and then picks up another and widens his eyes, pointing at Ashton’s mouth, who opens it and lets Michael take aim, catching it easily and chewing it miserably. “Of course it is,” Michael says. “You just wait, I bet he’ll show up in a french maid outfit tomorrow to deliver your coffee or something. You’ve walked into a porno with a month long character development scene, my guy.”

Ashton squints at him. “That sounds terrible.”

“We’ll see,” Michael shrugs. “Hey, do you still want me for that upcoming Hey Violet shoot? Next Wednesday, right?”

Ashton nods, “Yeah, next Wednesday. I’ll send you details tomorrow. Thanks, by the way.”

“Hey, no problem. And maybe I’ll get to meet your Luke,” Michael says, waggling his eyebrows at Ashton, “hang out with him a bit, drop one or two of your kinks into friendly conversation…”

“Oh, god,” Ashton moans pitifully, downing the rest of his drink, “Maybe I’ll find another photographer.” 

  
  
  


\----------

  
  


“Sir?” 

Ashton looks up at Luke from his desk. It’s a particularly cold morning and Luke’s ears are still red, he’s bundled up in a knitted scarf and his hands are encased in pink mittens. He’s holding two mugs of coffee and biting his lip as he looks at Ashton with a slightly nervous expression at interrupting his workflow. 

“Oh, Luke,” Ashton breathes out, “You’re cold.” It’s an incredibly stupid thing to say and Ashton feels like kicking himself as soon as the words leave his mouth, wants to scream at himself that Luke’s body temperature, at least for the next month, is absolutely none of his concern. It doesn’t matter that as soon as he looked at Luke the urge to wrap him up in a fluffy blanket and kiss his eyelids to warm them overtook all his other thoughts. 

Luke blushes and his already pink cheeks turn a wonderful shade of scarlet. “I’m...oh,” He nods, “A little. I run cold.” 

Running cold, Ashton decides quietly, is an adorable feature for someone to possess. He shakes his head to rid it of the small fantasies that have already started brewing inside him, (cuddling Luke next to a fireplace, lending him Ashton’s coat so he stays cozy in the outdoors, spreading him out on a bed and using his mouth to-) he doesn’t even let himself finish that last one, instead turning his attention to the coffee Luke’s holding. 

“That for me?” he asks. 

Luke’s eyes light up, “Oh! Yes, Calum told me how you take it.” he tells Ashton, crossing to his desk and holding out one of the mugs. 

Ashton nods and takes a sip. “It’s perfect. Thank you.” Luke grins widely, pleased with himself. 

“And how do you take it?” Ashton asks him. Luke’s eyebrows shoot up and he doesn’t respond for a moment before Ashton gestures at the other mug he’s holding and he looks down. Luke clears his throat, his cheeks burning again, before he answers Ashton quietly.

“Uh, sugar. I like it sweet.” He raises his eyes to look at Ashton, and he’s so close that Ashton can see their exact shade of blue for the first time, can almost count each blond eyelash that frames them, and Ashton feels his breath catch in his throat at how at home he feels. Luke doesn’t break eye contact, and Ashton wonders if he’s feeling the same thing. He hopes, briefly, that even though he can’t say anything to Luke, he can communicate with just his eyes how beautiful he is. 

_ ‘Stop that’,  _ Ashton reprimands himself. He wrenches his gaze away from Luke’s and busies himself at his computer, clicking at his screen mindlessly. “Would you um, go sit with Calum and have him show you how to do data entry? I’ll email you what you need.”

Luke nods quickly, backing up from Ashton’s desk. “Of course, I'll get right on it.”

Luke walks out the office door and Ashton exhales roughly, kicking the leg of his desk. 

He gets a call from Calum a minute later.

“Why am I training Luke on data entry? I’m busy, you slacker,” Calum whines into the phone. 

“So am I!” Ashton responds, and he taps at his keyboard noisily next to the phone speaker to illustrate his point. “Wait, why are you complaining when he’s right next to you? That’s so weird, don’t do that.”

“He’s in the bathroom, you circus freak,” Calum tells him, and Ashton can hear his eye roll through the phone. “I’m not that tactless. But seriously, why can’t you do this?”

“It’s not that hard to teach, please just do me this solid.” Ashton begs. 

Calum sighs. “Fine. But you owe me sour gummies from the vending machine. And you’re acting really weird.”

“Done. And noted.” Ashton hangs up and drops his head on his desk. The next twenty five days are going to be very, very difficult. 

  
  


\----------

  
  


Ashton can’t avoid Luke anymore. It’s been almost a week and a half and he’s successfully pawned Luke off on other employees nearly every day, watching him work miserably from his office, sighing when Luke passes by his door, burning with jealousy at everyone who gets to interact with him like it’s no big deal, like he’s not precious and his words don’t mean everything, like his laugh doesn't feel warm and familiar and perfect. He hasn’t laughed with Ashton yet. 

The problem now is, Ashton has way too many things to staple. There’s a mixer coming up and they’re sending out invitations to hundreds of people by post. They’re all sitting on Ashton’s desk, waiting to be stapled and folded and put in their envelopes, and Ashton is  _ busy.  _

He sighs, running a hand through his hair and bracing himself. “Luke?”

He hears footsteps nearing his door and then Luke’s face comes into view, curious and a little nervous, “Yes, sir?” he asks. 

“These invitations have to be sent out to residential areas and I need them stapled,” Ashton tells him. “I know it’s tedious, but-”

“No, not at all, sir. I don’t mind,” Luke assures him. “Please, I want to help you. I promise I’ll do a good job."

Ashton gestures to the papers on his desk, pointedly not looking at Luke when he walks over, not letting his gaze linger on the length of Luke’s legs, his hands when he runs his fingers over the envelopes. 

“So these ones need to be attached to the back to these ones,” he tells Luke, pointing at the different stacks, “and then if you could fold them into these envelopes and seal them, that would be great.”

Luke nods seriously, “Of course.” He hesitates for a moment. “Do you have stickers instead? I don’t love the taste of envelopes.”

Ashton chuckles in spite of himself, “No stickers, but I do have this sealant you can use,” he gestures to a bottle, “I wouldn’t ask you to lick all these envelopes.”

Luke’s cheeks go red and he looks like he wants to evaporate. “Oh, obviously, I’m sorry, that was stupid.”

Ashton frowns and it takes everything in him not to leap over his desk and take Luke in his arms, cuddle him in close and kiss away his embarrassment, “Hey, no, it’s fine. You’re fine.”

Luke doesn’t say anything but the blush on his face fades away as he staples, busying himself with his work. Ashton lets him work in silence for a minute before something Luke said earlier plays over in his head and he gets a worrying thought.

“Luke?”

Luke looks up and raises his eyebrows curiously. 

“I don’t want you to think, uh,” Ashton starts off, trying to choose his words carefully, “I think you’re doing a good job. A great job. I’ve been hearing really good things.” He had been so focused on keeping Luke at arm’s length that he hadn’t thought seriously about how Luke might take it as a critique of his job performance, or worse,  _ devastatingly  _ worse, as a rejection from Ashton of their soul bond. Ashton thinks that might kill him, the idea that Luke thought he wasn’t wanted, that Ashton didn’t feel pulled to him like a magnet, stronger every moment he couldn’t touch Luke. 

Luke looks down, but a slight smile graces his face as he staples his next invitation. “Thank you, sir,” he says softy. 

Ashton’s heart picks up slightly at being the reason for Luke’s smile and he takes a deep breath, directing his attention to his computer. There’s music playing softly from it, something he did on purpose so the silence between them wouldn’t feel so stifling. 

They sit together, Ashton typing away and Luke stapling and folding. They make it for a few songs until My Own Worst Enemy by Lit starts playing. 

Luke grins and looks up at Ashton excitedly, “I love this song,” he says happily. Ashon looks up at him quickly and Luke looks almost startled, like he hadn’t meant to make such a bold claim, and he looks down, spreading adhesive onto an envelope clumsily.

“Yeah?” Ashton asks him, charmed by the way his face had lit up with excitement.

Luke nods and looks back up at Ashton, “Yeah, my brother used to play it when he’d pick me up from lacrosse practice when I was little.”

“You played lacrosse?” Ashton asks, his gaze flitting between his computer screen and Luke’s eyes. 

Luke chuckles a little, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “Very, very, badly. I got kicked off the team after a year,” he looks a little embarrassed at the memory.

“Everyone has different strengths,” Ashton reassures him. Luke smiles and tilts his head in agreement. He giggles a little and Ashton looks at him questioningly. Luke points at his own neck, shaking his head a little.

“I got envelope glue on my neck,” he giggles, covering his mouth adorably. It’s the most comfortable he’s seemed around Ashton since they met, and Ashton finds himself giggling back, feeding off Luke’s laughter. They laugh together for a moment until it dies down naturally and the room fades into a more comfortable silence than before, the song fading out on Ashton’s computer into something new. 

Luke continues folding and stapling for a couple minutes before he pipes up again, “I like to write music,” he says quietly, and Ashton raises his eyebrows, “Oh?”

Luke nods enthusiastically, “That’s what I want to do, someday. Write music for artists.”

Ashton hums in interest, “That’s what you’re in school for, right?”

“Yeah, I love it!” Luke gushes, grinning widely at him, “It’s easier for me, sometimes, saying things in music that I can’t say in real life. I'm not great at talking sometimes,” he says regretfully, and Ashton’s heart melts slightly at this, and he barely registers he’s about to do it before he’s breathing out, “You’re perfect,” and Luke’s face turns absolutely scarlet before he staples his finger. 

Luke gasps in surprise and looks down at his finger, “Ow. Oh, no.”

Ashton widens his eyes and immediately pushes himself back from his desk, rummaging through the bottom drawer quickly, “Shit, shit, shit, hang on, I have a band aid somewhere.”

Luke shakes his head, “No,” he says, “That’s okay, you don’t need to, I’m fine.”

Ashton looks up at him, smiling slightly, “Luke, I appreciate how humble you are, but you’re going to bleed all over my papers.”

Luke is quiet at this but his blush gets deeper and he bites his lip, drawing his hand quickly away from the invitations. Ashton finds a band aid and crosses over to Luke, kneeling by his chair and unwrapping it. He takes Luke’s hand in his and carefully wraps up his finger. He keeps Luke’s hand in his, stroking his thumb over his palm soothingly. He looks up at Luke, whose face is still beet red and looks worried.

“I’m so sorry, sir, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to,” Luke says, his voice almost a whisper, and he doesn’t need to be any louder because Ashton is so close to him, his hand is so soft and shaking slightly in Ashton’s, and Ashton shakes his head, reaching up with his free hand, cupping Luke’s jaw softly. Luke melts into it slightly and Ashton can feel his breathing coming steadier, an almost immediate reaction to the comforting gesture. “Hey, it’s okay, _ baby _ , it’s okay,” he whispers and Luke sighs and makes a noise akin to a whine, deep in the back of his throat, swaying slightly closer to Ashton. 

Suddenly, Luke’s eyes snap open and he jerks away from Ashton slightly, looking at him with wide eyes. Ashton shakes his head, his words echoing in his mind, “Sorry, I- Luke, I didn’t mean-”

Luke interrupts him, “ _ No _ , I shouldn’t-” this time Ashton cuts him off, unable to stand the thought of Luke regretting being close to him, touching him, “You should probably get packed up soon, huh?”

Luke blinks, “Oh. Yeah. I should.” He still has a pile of invitations to finish but he starts to collect his things, stuffing them into his bag slightly carelessly. Ashton watches him, the memory of Luke’s hand in his still burning into his skin like a hot iron, and he watches helplessly as Luke finishes packing up and mumbles that he’ll see Ashton tomorrow. He feels frantic as Luke reaches the door and Luke is almost gone before he stops him. 

“Luke?” he asks. Luke stops immediately and turns back to look at Ashton. 

“Yes, sir?” he responds, and Ashton is silent for a moment.

“I’d love to hear something you’ve written, sometime,” he says. Luke looks taken aback and he clasps his hands in front of himself, a small smile gracing his face. 

“Really?” he asks, and Ashton nods, “Please.”

Luke doesn’t speak again but he nods, and Ashton can breathe easier now that he doesn’t look as nervous leaving the office, a slight bounce in his step. 

  
  


\----------

  
  


Ashton is staring. 

He knows he is, and he knows he’s busy, that he can’t afford to be staring. He doesn’t have the time. The thing is, the hair on the back of Luke’s head where he’s hunched over Calum’s desk is slightly curly and shiny and it looks like it would be so soft to the touch. Ashton longs to cross the space between them and run his hands through Luke’s hair, trail them down to span across his shoulders, down to his waist. He sighs and rests his chin in his hand, letting himself slip further into daydream.

He wonders what Luke would do if he kissed him. Walked up to him, took his hand in Ashton’s, pulled him to the emergency staircase, the one that’s always empty. Pushed Luke against the wall and kissed him hard and deep, poured everything hes been wanting to say into it, he wonders if Luke would melt into it the way he thinks he would, if Luke’s reaction to Ashton touching him the other night was any indication. He wonders if Luke would like it if Ashton pinned his hands up above his head, made it impossible for Luke to move as Ashton kissed down his neck. Ashton shudders and he feels his cock twitch in his pants as he replays the little whine Luke made, longs to hear that noise again. 

“Hey, Ash!” 

He startles and shakes his head, setting his attention on were Calum is walking through the door, pulling out the chair at the other side of Ashton’s desk and settling into it. “Hey Violet is confirmed at two tomorrow for the photoshoot, your friend Michael is still coming in around one, right? Double checking.”

Ashton nods, “Yeah, one.”

“Cool. It’ll be fun to meet him,” says Calum, stretching his arms above his head for a second. Ashton hums and lets his eyes slide back for a moment to where Luke is sitting, just in time to watch him get up and head to the water cooler. Ashton watches him go and sighs a little. He hears a snort and flicks his eyes back to Calum, who’s looking at him with a bemused expression. 

“Hey,” Calum says almost smugly, “Luke’s pretty cute, huh?”

Ashton gives him the blankest look he can muster. “No. No comment.”

“Got a fat ass, too,” Calum continues in a conversational tone.

“ _ Calum,”  _ Ashton hisses, “What the fuck.”

“I’m not wrong,” Calum says, shrugging. 

“You’ve got a fat mouth,” Ashton retorts. “Go do your job and stop objectifying the interns.”

Calum rolls his eyes but gets up, sauntering back to his desk and meeting Luke there when he gets back from the water cooler. Ashton watches as they sit down together and Calum says something that makes Luke laugh. Ashton tries not to feel jealous, knows that Luke is meant for him and he isn’t even Calum’s  _ type,  _ but he can’t help but think that Luke’s laugh would sound just that much sweeter if it was because of Ashton. 

  
  


\----------

  
  


“Sir? Where do you want these tiny kitten plushies?” Luke asks, holding up a basket of toys and looking at Ashton for instruction.

“Over by the left set, thank you, Luke,” Ashton responds, and Luke nods and sets them down carefully. Hey Violet is due to arrive in an hour, and Ashton has two seperate shoots for them, one involving a lot of plastic bubbles and the other, an array of stuffed animals, large and small. He watches Luke pick up one of the kittens and smile at it, smoothing the hair out of its marble eyes and placing it back in the basket. 

He grins fondly but looks away quickly when Luke starts to walk towards him again, turning his expression into a neutral, professional one and staring hard at a comma on the paper attached to his clipboard.

“So,” Luke says, picking up a bin of stuffed mice, “How do you come up with the shoot ideas?”

Ashton shrugs, “I guess it depends on the artist. Usually I like to try to go a little out of the box and give them something fun. I feel like they must get bored with the usual stuff, you know? And a photoshoot is a chance to really do something crazy and call it art. I wouldn’t do these particular themes for another artist, I don’t think, but they seemed right for today.”

Luke smiles, “Yeah, I like this one. I like all of them, actually.” He’s so genuine, so sincere and sweet, and Ashton opens his mouth to reply when he’s interrupted, Michael’s voice echoing across the room when he shouts out, “Hey, ASH!”

Ashton looks over to where he’s being beckoned and sighs, “Sorry, Luke, I have to go check up on our photographer.”

“Of course, sir. I’ll be here if you need me,” Luke smiles at him and Ashton grins back before leaving him to see what Michael wants. 

Michael waggles his eyebrows as Ashton approaches him and once he’s within earshot, he’s asking him, “Hey, is that him? Mr. Yes sir, anything for you sir, can I suck your dick under your desk please sir?”

Ashton smacks him lightly on the shoulder, “Shhhh, shut  _ up, _ Mikey. Someone’s gonna hear.”

Micahel shakes his head, “No one can hear me. Hey, he’s pretty, Ash. You always did love blonds.”

Ashton looks affronted at this, feels indignant at such a lazy description of Luke, “He’s not just a blond. He’s so sweet, Mikey,” he says as he looks over at Luke, who’s scribbling something in his notepad diligently. 

Michael nods. “And blond.”

Ashton sighs, “Yeah, I guess.”

Michael shrugs, “Not your fault you have a type. I just prefer to be a little more adventurous with my tastes. For example, I had a huge crush on Billie Joe Armstrong growing up. And he looks nothing like that absolute cutie pie twelve feet to our right hanging that string of twinkle lights,” he says, pointing to where Calum is plugging in a string of lights, his tongue poking between his teeth in concentration. 

“Calum?” Ashton asks in an amused voice. 

“ _ That’s _ Calum?” Michael says, and he sounds almost angry. 

“Yeah?” Ashton says, a bit confused. 

Michael shakes his head. “Fuck you, man.”

“What the hell,” Ashton chuckles a little at Michael’s expression of outrage. 

“All the times you’ve talked about Calum to me and you never showed me a picture or deigned to mention he was the prettiest little ex-personal-assistant-turned-junior-executive-special project-coordinator in the whole wide world,” Michael sighs, staring at Calum appreciatively. 

Ashton shakes his head, “Calm down. Go say hi,” he says, gesturing for Michael to go talk to Calum. 

Michael’s eyes go wide, “I couldn’t. I can’t be distracted for this shoot or they’ll skin you for hiring me.” He sighs sadly. “I’ll talk to him after.”

Ashton shakes his head at this, “Whatever.” He turns away from Michael and walks back over to Luke, who’s looking down at his clipboard with a very focused, almost intense expression. 

“Everything okay here?” he asks Luke, resisting the urge to reach out and stroke his arm comfortingly. 

“Oh!” Luke startles a little and looks up at him, “Yeah, I'm fine.” He pauses for a moment before he asks, “Everything good with Michael, sir?”

Ashton smiles at him. Luke’s looking at him with a genuinely concerned expression, his eyebrows raised and his lips slightly parted, pink and delicate and full. Ashton sighs, blinking slowly, “Perfect. Do you mind if I take those? “ he gestures to the papers on the clipboard Luke’s holding.

“Of course!” Luke hands them over immediately and Ashton smiles in thanks, turning his attention to where Hey Violet is walking through the doors. 

The shoot doesn’t take long to set up. Costume and makeup have already styled the band and they get situated on set quickly, each holding or sitting on or near their respective bubble. Michael is in the zone, his face pulled in concentration as he darts around, occasionally guiding a hand or a foot in the opposite direction, changing the composition of each shot slightly. Ashton watches him with pride. He’s always loved watching Michael work, and the fact that they get to collaborate has been something he’s been excited about for weeks now. 

Calum saunters over halfway through the first set of photos, munching on a tater tot happily and stands next to Luke and Ashton, observing the shoot. “Hey, you think your hot photographer friend would be interested in railing me after this shoot is over?” he asks casually. 

Ashton gives him a withering look, “Jesus Christ.”

Luke is blushing, his head down, but he has an amused expression on his face. 

“God, you guys, I’m kidding. You’re both so tense,” Calum laughs, popping another tater tot in his mouth. He’s silent for a minute, watching Michael photograph, before murmuring, “I do like the way he clicks that button, though.”

The three of them observe the shoot together for a bit before Michael shouts out for assistance with moving a prop and to Ashton’s surprise, Luke scurries off to help him before anyone else can move. Calum watches him go and then turns to Ashton. 

“Hey, you’re bringing him to the mixer on Saturday, right?” he asks Ashton. He’s referring to the mixer Luke set up the invitations for, which will be attended by a couple hundred people; record label employees, producers, a few up and coming artists Ashton’s taken an interest in. It’s the third year they’ve hosted the event and Ashton always makes sure to bring along someone to help him stay organized and on top of his game. 

“Luke? Yeah, probably,” he says, watching Luke help Michael move a giant iridescent plastic bubble from the right side of the stage to the left. Luke would probably look nice in a suit, he muses. Something blue, maybe, to bring out his eyes. 

“Cool, he’s so organized, he’ll be great to have with you,” Calum says, and then he gives Ashton a knowing wink. 

Ashton bristles and nods shortly, “He’s quite competent.”

“And you’re quite odd these days,” Calum responds around his tater tot, “Quite cagey. It’s been quite weird being around you.”

Ashton rolls his eyes and notices Michael walking towards them, “Okay. Hey, would you act normal for a second while I talk with my photographer?” he asks Calum condescendingly. 

“Quite,” Calum retorts, tipping his imaginary hat and bowing slightly. 

Michael reaches them and gives Calum a wink before he acknowledges Ashton. Calum gives him a little finger wave and somehow manages to make popping his next tater tot into his mouth a little slutty, sucking on his finger slightly when he pulls it back from his mouth. Michael grins and turns to Ashton. 

“Ash, I think it’s time for a scene change,” he tells him. “You wanna switch out the bubbles for the stuffed animals?”

“Sure,” Ashton agrees, picking up a stuffed dog from the bin lying next to him and giving it a once over. He holds it out to Michael. “You wanna take this home, Mikes? Would be easier to take care of than Moose.”

Michael nods jokingly, taking the dog from Ashton, and directs his next comment to Calum, “Yeah, I’ll just get rid of my dog. It’s not like I love her or anything.”

Calums eyes go wide as saucers and he seems to nearly choke on a piece of potato, coughing slightly before swallowing and looking into Michael’s eyes with a disbelieving expression. 

“Fuck, I’m stupid,” Calum exclaims shortly. 

Michael blinks in surprise before a smile takes over his face and he looks between Ashton and Calum gleefully, “You’re  _ what?”  _ he crows, bouncing on the balls of his feet excitedly. 

“Oh my god,” Calum whispers, “It was a joke, I’m so stupid,” he buries his face in his hands, smiling slightly but clearly embarassed. 

Ashton shakes his head, “Wait, you mean to tell me this whole time the horrible thing you’ve had on your arm was a joke about a dog? I thought your soulmate was an antisemetic cannibal or something!”

Michael is rapturous, tugging on Calum’s arm and pulling him to the corner of the room, yelling back over his shoulder, “Ashton! You set things up! We’ll be back in a moment!” 

Ashton watches them reach the edge of the room, excitedly comparing tattoos and whispering to each other, giddy and giggly. At one point Calum does a little twirl of excitement and Ashton chuckles. 

“That’s really sweet,” Luke says from his left. “Good for them.” His voice sounds a little wistful and Ashton can imagine he’s feeling similar to how Ashton feels right now. He’s so happy for Calum and Michael, so glad they’ve found each other, but a huge part of him is so jealous that they’re able to be so open about their soul bond when Luke and Ashton haven’t even been able to speak about theirs with each other. The urge to reach out and touch Luke, to hold him, burns in him every day, and he feels a melancholy ache in his chest when he sees Michael hugging Calum tight with complete disregard for his surroundings. 

“Yeah,” he agrees with Luke. “They fit well together. I feel bad I didn't introduce them sooner.”

Luke nods quietly, crossing his arms and looking down at the floor, “Yeah, they seem really happy.”

They’re quiet for a bit. Ashton knows it’s inappropriate to ask Luke where his soulmark is, but he can’t help it. If he can’t be with Luke, can’t touch him, can’t talk to him the way he wants to, he wants some sort of proof, he wants to see his words inked onto Luke’s skin, a symbol of their connection to get him through the next half month alone. He wants to see that Luke is his. 

“Luke?” Ashton asks quietly. 

“Yeah?” Luke breathes. 

Ashton swallows, “Where’s, um, where’s your-” he stops himself, “You know what, nevermind.”

Across the room, Calum giggles loudly and Michael leans in, giving him a sweet kiss on the cheek. Calum giggles louder and laces their fingers together. 

“On my ribs,” Luke says, his voice almost a whisper, almost too quiet for Ashton to hear. 

“Wh-what?” Ashton asks him.

“My soulmark,” Luke continues, “It’s on my ribs.”

Ashton swallows hard, “Oh.” 

“On the left side, my left. I’ve had it since I was 18.” 

Ashton nods, biting his tongue. He wants to know more. He wants to ask Luke what he thought when he got it. What he thought Ashton was going to be like. He wants to know if he’s a disappointment, if Luke wants Ashton as badly as Ashton wants him, but he can’t ask. Instead, he asks the next thing that pops into his head.

“Would you come with me on Saturday? For the mixer?”

Luke looks at him, his eyes burning into Ashton’s, “Of course, sir. Anything for you.”

\----------

If he’s being honest, Ashton usually finds the mixers boring. He enjoys talking to the artists, but the record executives are stiflingly dull. Ashton’s interest in the music business mainly stems from the creative side, and as much as the money talk is a necessary part of his job, he can’t help but find it incredibly uninteresting. Tonight though, he’s barely fazed by the dozens of cripplingly boring conversations he’s endured, and it has everything to do with Luke standing by his side for each one. Ashton finds it impossible to feel bored with Luke next to him, a quick glance at his face or a brush of their arms together is like an electric current running through his chest. In fact, he’s almost finding it hard to stand still tonight, shifting from one foot to the other, itching to slide his arm around Luke’s waist, which is covered in a very well fitted suit jacket, sleek and black and absolutely beautiful on him. 

They’re talking to an artist now, a singer songwriter Ashton’s had his eye on for a while named Tripp. “ I’ve heard a few demos,” Aston’s telling him, “I think your sound is pretty interesting, very reminiscent of early grunge, but you’ve put a cool twist on it. Almost folksy.”

Tripp grins, “Thanks so much, man! That really means a lot coming from you.” he gushes, and then turns to Luke, “Sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

“Luke,” Luke tells him, holding out his hand for Tripp to shake. Tripp shakes it, and Ashton decides he’s being irrational when he feels like their hands touch for a second too long before Tripp lets go. Luke’s hand falls to his side and Ashton watches it go, resting loosely next to his thigh. His pants are tight, tighter than Ashton has ever seen him wear, and Ashton’s mouth goes a little dry when he let his stare linger a little longer than it should.

Tripp coughs quietly in the silence and Ashton looks back at him pleasantly. “Of course. Hey, let me give you my card. I’m sure I have your information in the system somewhere,” he says, handing over his business card.

“Wow, thank you so much,” Tripp says, pocketing the card carefully. Ashton smiles at him before turning to Luke. 

“Hey, Luke, I’ll be right back, gotta use the restroom, okay?” he says, and Luke nods. 

Ashton leaves for the restroom, making his way through the crowd with a quick glance back at Luke before he goes through the door, who looks like he’s picked up conversation with Tripp. Ashton locks the door behind himself and slumps against the back of the door, running a hand through his hair. He leans over the bathroom sink, supporting his weight on his hands, and shakes his head at his reflection in the mirror. Maybe it was a bad idea, inviting Luke to come with him tonight. It’s been hours and Ashton’s barely paid attention to anyone he’s talked to. Sure, he’s not bored, but that’s because all of his attention is on Luke. He feels sick even now, being separated from him, and he knows it’s a side effect of him resisting their bond. His desperation to be close to Luke feels like it’s getting out of control, like a frayed rope about to snap. ‘ _ Get it together _ ,’ he thinks to himself. He splashes a little water on his face and unlocks the door, immediately looking around to find Luke. 

Luke is still standing with Tripp, and Ashton can hear their conversation as he gets nearer.

“You’ve really never been? Not once?” Tripp asks Luke, an incredulous expression on his face. 

Luke looks uncomfortable, his weight shifting from his left foot to his right as he bites his thumbnail, “N-no, I haven't, I don't go clubbing, uh, that often…” 

Tripp makes an understanding noise and then steps a little closer to him, and Ashton sees red when he slips a hand around Luke’s waist and says, “I’ll take you sometime, yeah? I promise you’d have a good time, I'd make sure of it.” His grin is cocky and irritating and Ashton wants to put his foot through it. 

“Oh, um, I guess that maybe, would be, I mean I'm usually busy, but-” Luke is stammering when Ashton reaches the two of them and clears his throat. Luke turns to look at him and as soon as he sees Ashton’s face he looks immensely relieved, slipping away from Tripp and closer to Ashton.

“Luke! Would you come with me?” Ashton says, not sparing Tripp a second glance as he starts walking away. 

Luke trots beside him, following him close to the refreshment table and stopping when Ashton does. Ashton turns to look at him. Luke cocks his head to the side and Ashton’s heart skips a beat. 

“Sir?” Luke asks after Ashton is silent for a beat too long. 

Ashton shakes his head, “I’m sorry. I just thought you looked, um...a little tired,” he explains, “Do you want to wrap this up?”

Luke gives him a small smile and nods. “I think I’d like that. Don’t you have to stay, though?”

“ No, I think I’ve put in my time,” Ashton says, smiling back at him. “Come on, let’s get our coats.” 

They start towards coat check, Luke in the lead this time. Ashton follows close behind him. He looks at the curve of Luke’s back in his suit jacket and thinks how easy it would be to reach out and guide Luke. His memory flashes back to the sight of Tripp’s hand snaking around Luke’s waist and jealousy burns inside of him and suddenly he’s doing it, reaching out and resting his hand on the small of Luke’s back, fitting it in the slight curve perfectly. He feels Luke’s muscles jump slightly under the touch and then relax, and he swears he hears Luke make a small noise at the contact, but he keeps walking, making no other indication that he can feel Ashton’s hand on him. 

They reach coat check and Luke stops, turning back to look at Ashton. Ashton’s breath catches in his throat when he sees Luke’s face, cheeks flushed and pupils slightly dilated, his plump bottom lip caught between his teeth. 

“There’s no one here,” Luke says, nodding his head at the desk, which is free of coat check attendants. 

“Let’s go in,” Ashton says, and he starts toward the coat closet door but Luke grabs his wrist.

“You don’t think we’ll get in trouble?” Luke asks him with wide eyes. Ashton gulps, Luke’s warm, soft hand on his skin is all he can feel and he lets out a deep breath, looking at Luke with a fond smile, “I’ll deal with the consequences of us grabbing our own coats when the time comes, Luke.”

Luke blushes and, unfortunately, lets go of Ashton’s wrist, following him into the dark closet. Ashton finds the light switch and flicks it on, looking at the rack on the left side of the small closet for a moment and finding his own coat easily, sliding it off the hanger before turning around and inhaling sharply. Luke had been searching the other rack for his own coat and turned to Ashton at the same time and suddenly they were much too close. Ashton can see every freckle on Luke’s nose. He can feel when Luke exhales, his hot breath puffing against Ashton’s lips, his eyes looking straight into Ashton’s own. His eyes are so full of something, want, maybe, and he sways slightly forward on the balls of his feet, even further into Ashton’s space, so close to him, sharing his body heat. 

Ashton takes a deep breath and throws an ounce of caution out the window, extending his hand to Luke’s side, stroking it down his waist gently, letting himself touch Luke for the second time that night. Luke whimpers slightly and his hand quickly finds Ashton’s bicep and he grips it almost like he’s grounding himself, still staring at Ashton’s face, glancing between his eyes and his lips. Ashton wonders if Luke can tell, looking in his eyes, that he’s barely slept since they met. 

“Luke, I…” Ashton starts, but his words get caught in his throat. 

“A-Ashton,” Luke whispers, and Ashton inhales sharply. It’s the first time Luke’s used his first name before, and it hits Ashton like a ton of bricks, hearing the word leaving Luke’s lips.

His hand trails down Luke’s side to where his shirt is tucked into his suit pants and he tugs at it lightly, on Luke’s left side. “ _ Luke,” _ he breathes,“I need, can, can I,” he tugs slightly harder, “I need to  _ see, _ ” he explains. Luke nods quickly and Ashton pulls his shirt up, rucking it up to his chest and looking down.

He’s expecting it but he still gasps slightly when he sees his own words inked beautifully on Luke’s ribs.  _ Careful, I’ll push you to your limits.  _

“God, Luke,” he whispers and Luke whimpers again. Ashton surges forward, pressing their foreheads together, his hand still fisted in Luke’s shirt. “ _ Luke _ ,” he whispers again. Luke is silent, but he’s breathing heavily, his chest heaving. It would be so easy, so, so easy to lean in, just a few centimeters more and connect their lips. It would be so easy to taste Luke. 

A loud crash sounds from outside the closet and they jump apart quickly, Ashton smoothing out his suit jacket out and Luke stuffing his shirt hastily back into his pants. They’re both still panting slightly and staring at each other. 

“Let’s go,” Ashton croaks, “Come on, I’m driving you home.”

“Yes, sir,” Luke says, and they leave the closet quickly, making their way out of the event with a few nods to some executives on the way. 

\----------

The drive to Luke’s home is silent. Ashton has a death grip on the steering wheel and Luke is staring out the passenger seat window the whole time. When they pull up to his drive, Luke hesitates for a second before leaving the car with a simple ‘ _ Goodnight’.  _ Ashton watches him walk away and groans, resting his head on the steering wheel and breathing deeply.

“Fuck” he mutters to himself before he starts up the car and drives away. His apartment is only about a fifteen minute drive from Luke’s place and it seems to take no time at all, his mind far, far away, every part of him still back in that coat closet with Luke, pressed up close to him.

His apartment seems more empty than ever when he gets home and he sighs as he shrugs off his coat and hangs it up by the door. He walks to his bathroom and flicks the light on, turning his shower knobs and letting the water heat up while he removes his clothes. He steps into the shower and lets the hot water run over him, leaning his head back against the shower wall and tries to even out his breathing. He can’t calm his mind down, can’t stop thinking about how Luke’s hands felt on him, how it felt for him to touch  _ Luke.  _ He runs his hand over his face and groans. His cock is halfway hard, it feels like it has been for ages, and it twitches when Ashton remembers how Luke’s breath had washed over him, how he could see the want in Luke’s eyes when he looked at Ashton. 

He’d tried his best, since he met Luke, not to think about him while he touched himself. Ashton knows himself, he knows that once he started, he wouldn’t be able to stop. But all of his rational thoughts had flown out the window as soon as he’d seen his words etched on Luke’s skin, a touchable, undeniable proof that Luke belonged to him. That Luke was  _ his,  _ and he was Luke’s. He lets out a choked sigh as he wraps a hand around his cock and squeezed, starting to pump himself slowly. 

He lets his mind wander to what could have happened if the crash from outside the door hadn’t stopped them. He wonders if Luke would have let Ashton kiss him, push him up against the door and claim his mouth. The picture in his head is so vivid, Luke kissing him back, running his hands over Ashton’s body, every touch electric and warm, slipping Ashton’s jacket off, unbuttoning his shirt, pushing it over his shoulders. Ashton taking off Luke’s own jacket and pulling his shirt the rest of the way over his head, already pushed up to his chest, exposing his mark.

Ashton’s hand speeds up on his cock as he pictures Luke dropping to his knees in front of him, looking up at him with his sweet, innocent eyes while he unbuttons Ashton’s suit pants and pulls them down eagerly, pulling out his dick. Taking the head in his hot mouth, his pink lips stretched over Ashton’s length, making the sweet little whimpers Ashton longed to hear again, sucking hard at his cock, tears forming in his pretty eyes. 

Ashton’s mind switches gears, imagines holding Luke up against the door, palms flat against it while Ashton cages him in from behind, fucking into Luke, his cock disappearing in between his fat cheeks, making Luke gasp and moan and beg for more, his fingers curling and his mouth dropped open and wet. He’d push his fingers into Luke’s mouth while he fucked him, make him suck on them, his eyes closed in bliss while he takes Ashton’s cock so well, such a good boy.

“Luke, _ baby,  _ oh god, Luke _ ,”  _ he moans as his hand flies over his cock, and he fucks into his fist desperately, rubbing his thumb over the tip and shuddering heavily as he comes, spurting over his fist. He keeps touching himself for a minute, letting himself come down slowly from his high, not quite ready to let himself come back to reality, one where he’s alone again, where he doesn’t have Luke to curl up with after he comes, one where he hasn’t felt Luke how he needs to, how he knows Luke needs to be felt. 

He trudges into bed when he’s done with his shower and curls up alone, letting himself fall into sleep as soon as possible, suddenly exhausted after a long night. 

\----------

“How do you decide?” Luke asks, looking at Ashton with a curious expression.

They’re back in Ashton’s office, Luke reprising his role of stapling papers, and he seems to have it down quite well, working quickly and efficiently and getting absolutely none of his fingers caught in the crossfire.

Ashton smiles at him, “Decide what?”

Luke hums, “You know, when somebody has “it”?” He uses air quotes to illustrate his point. 

Ashton giggles fondly,”This isn’t a movie, Luke. I don’t think “it” really exists,” He shrugs, contemplating. “This job is mainly me taking a chance on people and hoping it helps their career out a little.”

Luke narrows his eyes, “Well, what makes you take a chance, then?”

Ashton takes a second before answering, “I don’t know, I guess if I'm moved? That sounds cheesy, but it’s true. If I feel something, I feel something. Call it intuition.”

Luke nods and staples. Ashton returns to his computer, composing an email to a potential creative director for his next shoot. He’s received a few emails from Tripp in the past week and at the risk of feeling too petty, hasn’t deleted them but rather let them sit in his inbox unopened, possibly forever. 

“What moves you?” Luke asks quietly. Ashton looks up from his email. Luke is looking at him with a hard to read expression. He looks almost challenging, and it’s a look Ashton hasn’t seen on him before. 

He could tell Luke the answer in a heartbeat, could look him straight in the eye and say ‘ _ you _ ’, like he thinks Luke wants him to, but he’s held on this long. 

“That’s hard to answer,” he settle on. It’s not. 

Luke nods slowly. He turns his attention back to his papers, “Sounds like “it” to me,” he says. “If you can’t answer.”

Ashton chuckles slightly, “You might be right,” he concedes. 

“Could you take a look at this, sir?” Luke asks him, setting down the last of his work. “I think everything’s finished.”

“Sure,” Ashton crosses over to the other side of his desk and stands behind Luke’s chair, reviewing the finished documents. Everything’s neatly organized and set aside exactly how it’s supposed to be. 

“That’s perfect, Luke, thank you,” he says. 

Luke looks up at him with a smile, a curl falling slightly in his face, and without a thought, Ashton brushes it behind his ear tenderly. Luke leans into the touch, his eyes closing slightly and his left hand coming up to hold Ashton’s, keeping him close. His hand is so soft, so delicate and Ashton brings it to his mouth, brushing his lips against it softly. 

“Luke,” Ashton says, pressing a small kiss to his knuckles. 

“Sir,” Luke asks, and he barely says it, barely answers, his voice strained and raspy when he does. 

“How, um,” Ashton strokes his thumb across Luke’s palm, knows he has to let go of his hand but tries to extend the moment as long as possible, “How many days left in your internship?”

Luke sighs, swallowing hard before he whispers, “Ten, sir.”

“Ten,” Ashton echoes. 

Luke nods and Ashton lets go of his hand, immediately missing the warmth of it in his own. 

“You should go, Luke,” he mutters, and it takes all the strength inside of him to say it, when every part of him is screaming for Luke to stay. He almost breaks when Luke lets out a small hurt noise. An involuntary one, Ashton can tell, by the way his cheeks redden in embarrassment and he looks down at his feet. It’s all Ashton can do not to take his hand again, tell him to stay, that the company rules can get fucked, but by some miracle of God he holds his composure, walking stiffly back to his office chair and sitting down. 

“Tomorrow, Luke,” he says shortly. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Luke gathers his things quietly and heads to the door, turning around before he leaves to looks at Ashton. He opens his mouth to speak but then shakes his head, only offering a small wave before he disappears for the night.

\----------

“So, four days, huh?” Calum asks loudly.

They’re at Sam’s again, in a booth now, and this time Calum is snuggled up in Michael’s lap, sucking his fruity cocktail down through a bright yellow straw and wiggling his eyebrows at Ashton suggestively. 

Ashton sighs and gives Michael a look, “Did you have to tell him about Luke?”

Michael looks affronted, wrapping his arms around Calum and resting his head on his shoulder. They’re without a doubt the cuddliest couple Ashton has ever been around. As soon as the three of them had sat down, they’d intertwined into one being with two heads. It would be sweet, if Ashton wasn’t so bitter. 

“He’s my soulmate, Ashton,” Michael says, “My betrothed. The butter to my biscuit. Of course I told him.”

Calum beams, kissing Michael’s cheek before turning back to Ashton and pointing at him accusingly, “I’m a little offended you didn’t tell me yourself, to be honest,” he mumbles, popping a handful of peanuts in his mouth and chewing slowly, “Are we not freindth, Ath-ton?” he says through his food. 

Ashton makes a face, “And risk you commenting on it every single day? No thank you,” he shakes his head. 

Calum swallow his peanuts, “Please, I have some tact.”

“No, you don’t,” Michael says, smiling fondly at him. 

Calum considers it for a moment, and then decides, “No, I don’t.”

“Anyways,” Ashton tells them, “There’s nothing to comment on. We haven’t even spoken to each other about it.”

Calum’s eyes go wide and he removes his lips from where they were wrapped back around his yellow straw, “You  _ what.” _

Ashton shifts, slightly uncomfortable at both of them looking at him like he’s just admitted to Lincoln’s assasination, “I mean, we’ve acknowledged it, kind of-”

Calum interrupts him, “ _ Kind of _ ?”

“It’s delicate,” Ashton says softly, a last pitiful attempt to explain himself. 

Michael shakes his head, bewildered, “So you have no idea what’s going to happen once his internship is up.”

And oh. Somehow, Ashton had never put it in that context for himself. He’s been so focused on the end of the month, so focused on counting down the days that he barely gave any thought to what happens after. He had just assumed they wanted the same things, that they’d be on the same page, that Luke wanted him just as badly as Ashton wanted Luke. Now, with Calum and Michael staring at him incredulously, he realizes he has no idea. 

“Oh, god,” he whispers, the image of Luke finishing his internship, tossing his lanyard down on Ashton’s desk and walking out of the building without a second glance is playing through his head on a loop, and he looks up at his friends with a horrified expression.

“Uh oh,” Michael says. 

Calum grimaces, “We broke him.”

Ashton groans and thunks his head on the table, “ _ No _ , I just. Is it that bad that we haven’t talked things through? I’ve been assuming we’re on the same page here but what if…what if he isn’t.” He lifts his head up and looks at them both miserably, “What if he doesn’t want me the same way.”

Calum shakes his head and puts his drink down, leaning forward in Michael’s lap so he can reach Ashton, holding his cheeks in his hands and squishing them slightly, “Is that really what you’re worried about?”

Ashton nods slightly, confused, and Calum chuckles a little, “I work in that office. I may not have known you two were soulmates, but I know when I see a boy who wants to get wrecked by his boss’s dick so hard he goes blind. You have nothing to worry about,” he lets go of Ashton’s head and leans back against Michael again, chewing on another peanut contentedly.

Michael grins at Calum, squeezing his waist happily, “You’re so smart.”

Ashton makes a miserable noise, “You can’t know that for sure.”

Calum shrugs, “All I know is you’re clearly perfect for each other. I don’t know anyone else besides the two of you that would let this drag on for so long without a word. You’re both insufferable.”

Ashton sputters, offended, “You have no right to use the word insufferable. Look at you,” he gestures to the two of them, wrapped up in each other, Michael feeding Calum peanuts, “I can’t tell where you end and he starts.”

Michael frowns and picks up another peanut, flicking it at Ashton. Ashton catches it in his mouth perfectly and Calum cheers, high fiving him excitedly. 

“You’ll be fine, Ash,” Michael reassures him once Calum has settled back down, “It’ll work out. It’s meant to.”

  
  


\----------

  
  


It’s Luke’s last day. 

Ashton’s been restless for hours, anticipation running through his veins like poison, hope that Luke wants the same thing he does is all he has today, he’s running on fumes at this point and he’s jiggling his leg anxiously as he watches the clock tick down. One hour.

“Luke?” he calls out. 

Luke appears in the doorway almost immediately, and he looks at Ashton, biting his lip, waiting for him to speak. 

“I’ll drive you home today,” Ashton tells him. “If you’d like.”

“Yes, sir,” Luke says. He walks out of the room and Ashton looks at the clock. Fifty five minutes

  
  


\----------

  
  


They leave five minutes early, making their way to the parking garage quickly and silently. Ashton slips his arm around Luke’s waist when his car is in view, and Luke shudders at the touch, walking a little faster. Ashton backs him against his car when they reach it, pressing his whole body up against Luke’s, breathing unsteadily, he runs a hand through Luke’s hair, his eyes searching Luke’s face almost frantically, waiting for him.

Luke looks at his with an expression of pure need, raw and unfiltered, “ _ Please _ , Ashton.”

Ashton surges forward and kisses him, he feels desperate and he groans immediately when his lips touch Luke’s, scorching hot and so soft. Luke whimpers and wraps his arms around Ashton’s waist, holding him close as he kisses back with everything he has, pushing his tongue against Ashton’s and hooking his leg around his waist, keeping him as close as possible. Ashton pulls back for a second to take a breath, keeping his lips only a centimeter away from Luke’s before he dives back in, biting Luke’s lower lip gently and then sucking at it before stroking his tongue against Luke’s. Luke makes a wounded noise and he grips Ashton’s shirt in his hand like he’s trying to anchor himself but his knees are weak where Ashton is holding him up against the car door. 

Ashton’s heart is pounding, he’s surprised it isn’t echoing loudly through the parking garage, it’s thundering in his ears, the only thing he can hear is the sound of his own pulse and the sweet little noises Luke is making into his mouth, kissing Ashton so enthusiastically. 

“ _ Luke _ ,” Ashton mutters against his lips, and Luke whines and kisses him harder, the leg around his waist tightening, pushing Ashton’s crotch against his and sighing into his mouth, starting to grind his hips against Ashton’s slightly. Ashton growls lowly and pushes forward against Luke, matching his movements.

“Ashton,  _ Ashton _ , take me home, please, take me with you,” Luke begs, panting when he pulls back from Ashton’s mouth and looks at him with glassy, half lidded eyes. He looks wrecked already, his pink lips swollen and wet and Ashton nods, kissing him again before murmuring, “Yeah, baby, I’ll take you home, gonna take you to bed, huh?”

“Please” Luke says, pushing his hips against Ashton’s again and whining almost pitifully. 

Ashton pulls him back from the car and Luke stumbles slightly, falling into Ashton’s chest while Ashton opens the door behind him, guiding him to sit down. Luke settles into the passenger seat and does his seatbelt up while Ashton walks quickly around the car and gets in on his side. He looks over at Luke, who’s thrown his head against the back of the seat and is breathing hard. He rolls his head to the side to look at Ashton and Ashton’s breath catches in his throat, can’t get used to seeing such a vulnerable, wanton expression on Luke’s face. He leans over the console to kiss him again and Luke goes easily, moaning slightly into it.

Ashton pulls back and starts the car, throwing it in reverse and backing out of the space then speeding out of the garage. It’s a short drive but it feels like forever with Luke sitting next to him, even with Ashton rubbing and squeezing his thigh, forcing his breath out of him in little pants. 

“I want you so bad,” Luke moans quietly from his right. 

“Fuck, Luke,” Ashton curses, speeding up a little more, squeezing his thigh a little harder and fighting desperately to keep his eyes on the road. 

Luke keeps going, “From the minute I saw you, I needed you so bad.”

Ashton nods his head, “Me too, god, baby, you had me, you know you did.”

Luke whines and shifts in his seat, restless, “I didn’t. You made me  _ wait.” _

They pull up to Ashton’s place and he slams his foot on the brakes, putting the car in park and clambering out quickly. Luke is ahead of him, racing to the front door and shifting from one foot to the other impatiently, and Ashton meets him there, unlocking the door in record time and pulling Luke inside and towards his bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him and not bothering to turn the light on. He pauses in the hallway, pulling Luke into his chest in the dark and finding his lips. Luke hums against him and tugs at his jacket impatiently and Ashton shrugs it off, throwing it on the ground carelessly and detaching from Luke to pull him the rest of the way to the bedroom

Luke giggles a little bit as he’s pulled into Ashton’s bedroom, blinking slightly when Ashton turns on his bedside lamp and the room is filled with a muted golden light. It’s soft and warm and Ashton thinks it makes Luke look like an angel, almost like he's being lit from within, his chest still heaving and his hair messy, his lips pouty and wet. 

Ashton steps forward into his space, pulling Luke’s shirt over his head and running his fingers along the mark on his ribs, tracing his own words with his fingers, mesmerized. “I want to see yours,” Luke whispers, and Ashton tugs at his own shirt, pulling it off easily and turning his arm so his mark is facing Luke. Luke’s mouth drops open a bit and he rubs a thumb over it gently before leaning in and pressing a kiss to Ashton’s arm. Ashton hooks a finger under his chin and guides him back up to his mouth, dipping his tongue inside before he pulls back and gently guides Luke to lie back on his bed, climbing on top of him. 

He holds himself above Luke, on one elbow, his other hand tight on Luke’s waist, and he stares down at him. He takes everything in, the way Luke’s eyes look up at him, glossy and wide, the way his hair fans out on the pillow like a halo, how his lips look bitten and swollen but still so soft. 

“Look at you,” Ashton breathes, and he leans down to kiss Luke deeply, “You’re everything,” he kisses him again, the taste of Luke on his tongue is like honey, sweet and addictive, “everything to me.”

Luke whimpers a little and Ashton watches as a tear runs down his cheek, an overwhelmed look in his eyes. Ashton wipes it away with his thumb and moves his way down to Luke’s neck, kissing him until Luke’s moaning beautifully. He sucks dark marks into the skin of his neck and chest, marking up his collarbones, claiming him, finally. 

“Tell me,” he whispers against Luke’s skin, “Tell me you’re mine.”

Luke keens and pushes his hips up against Ashton’s, “I’m yours, only yours,” he promises, his breathing coming heavy and labored. 

Ashton groans at his words and pushes his hips down to meet Luke’s, grinding against him hard, “God, I love you, I  _ love  _ you,” he moans, and Luke cries out softly, rotating his hips to get more friction on his hard cock, straining against his pants. 

“Ashton,” he begs, “I waited so long, please,  _ take  _ me, have me-” he cuts himself off, leaning up to kiss Ashton hard, and Ashton groans into it, reaching down to unbutton his pants and pull them off along with his boxers, doing the same to Luke and throwing everything off the bed hastily before climbing back on top of Luke. He slides over his body until their dicks are lined up and starts a slow, easy grind against Luke that has him moaning into Ashton’s mouth. Luke’s hand makes its way between their bodies and he takes both of their cocks in his grip, pumping them slowly together.

Ashton lets himself get lost in the feeling for a second before he circles his fingers around Luke’s wrist, forcing him to relinquish his hold and pressing his wrist up into the pillow over his head, pinning him there. Luke whines at this and Ashton feels his cock twitch in between their bodies as he’s held down, looking up at Ashton with wide eyes, panting heavily. 

“Don’t want you to work for it, baby, you waited long enough, didn’t you?” Ashton says in a low, sweet voice, kissing Luke softly and rutting his cock up against Luke’s in a lazy, consistent rhythm.

Luke just nods, completely lost in the feeling of Ashton working against him so perfectly.

“Yeah,” Ashton murmurs, watching Luke’s eyes slip shut in pleasure, “Let me take care of you. Let me make you feel so good.” He leans down to kiss Luke again, slipping his tongue into his mouth and sliding their lips together perfectly, sucking Luke’s bottom lip into his mouth. Luke kisses him back eagerly, pushing his hips up to meet every thrust. “ _ Fuck me,” _ he mutters when Ashton pulls back from his mouth and Ashton curses, letting his forehead rest against Luke’s for a moment before he reaches over to his nightstand, opens the drawer and pulls out what he needs. 

He opens the lube clumsily and coats one finger in it, pushing between Luke’s soft, round cheeks to find his hole and rubs against it gently, letting him get used to the feeling before pushing in slowly. Luke makes a sweet little noise and his legs fall open wide, pushing back slightly against Ashton’s finger. Ashton leans in to kiss him again and Luke moans pitifully against his mouth, “ _ Fuckmefuckmefuckme,”  _ he chants under his breath and Ashton exhales sharply, “Gonna fuck you, baby, gonna fuck you so nice and hard,” he promises. 

“Yeah,” Luke whines, “Wanted you to, so many times,” Ashton kisses his neck while he pumps his finger into Luke steadily, his voice making Ashton feel like he’s right on the edge of crazy, “Wanted you to bend me over your desk, take me hard,” Luke moans. 

Ashton growls and and adds another finger, stretching him slowly, grinding his own cock slightly against Luke’s thigh to relieve some of the pressure building up. 

“Was so scared,” Luke whispers and then moans when Ashton strokes inside of him just right, “that you didn't want me back, didn’t lo-love-,” he moans again, throwing an arm over his face, “I don't know what I would have done.”

Ashton shakes his head in disbelief, “ _ Luke,  _ from the moment I saw you, you’re all I’ve wanted,” he leans in to kiss the bridge of his nose, “God, I haven't had a moment’s peace since you walked through the door. You have to believe me, I've been out of my mind.”

Luke shudders when he adds a third finger, his eyes shut tight and his mouth dropped open, tiny little moans escaping it every now and then, his hips moving back against Ashton’s hand in perfect time.

“Out of my mind wanting you, baby,” Ashton whispers, “Felt like I was losing it.”

Luke gasps and begs him, “Please, I’m ready, I need it,  _ Ashton.” _

Ashton leans down and kisses the mark on his ribs gently before he picks up a condom, tearing the package open and rolling it carefully onto his cock, staring at Luke while he does. He looks debauched, fucked out before Ashton’s even gotten inside him, and he’s still holding his wrists above his head, like he doesn’t want to lose the idea that Ashton’s still stopping him from moving them. Like he doesn’t want control back. Ashton pushes gently at his legs until they’re bent enough that he can get between them and rub the head of his dick against Luke’s hole. He pushes in slowly, squeezing Luke’s ass while he does, watching himself sink into his hole and groaning slightly at the image it creates. 

Luke is panting so hard, his head rolling from one side to the other on the pillow, and he arches his back slightly when Ashton starts to fuck into him slowly. “ _ Oh,”  _ he moans sweetly, and Ashton grits his teeth at the quiver in his voice and brings his hand up to Luke’s wrists again, pressing them slightly into the pillow and fucking into him slightly when Luke gasps at the move and pushes back against his cock. 

“You feel good, baby?” Ashton asks him, fucking into him steadily. Luke just nods and pants, saying nothing, his eyes screwed shut. Ashton leans down and takes one of his nipples in his mouth, sucking at it gently, running his tongue over it before biting it gently. Luke gasps, writhing slightly on the bed, and pushes back harder against him. Ashton switches to the other side, biting and sucking at the same time he changes the angle of his cock inside Luke, sliding over his sweet spot. “ _ Ashton,”  _ Luke moans, high in his throat.

“Look at you,” Ashton pants, pulling back to watch Luke take his cock, opening up for him so well and taking him in over and over, “Beautiful,” he mutters, fucking into him harder and more quickly. Luke’s eyes are open now, but he looks far away, he’s whining with every thrust, looking up at Ashton with a pleading expression.

Ashton moans loudly, fucking into him with abandon, “That’s it, Luke, so pretty for me, come on,” he says, and Luke’s eyes flutter shut as he gasps loudly, cumming hard between their bodies and pushing his head back down against the pillow while his back arches up. Ashton thrusts into him three more times before he lets out a low groan against Luke’s neck, pushing into him as hard as he can and releasing into the condom, his hips still ticking into Luke in the aftershocks, not quite ready to let go of the perfect feeling of being inside of him. 

Luke whines softly and Ashton kisses his forehead sweetly and pulls out of him slowly, tying off the condom and tossing it in the general direction of the trash can near his bed. He cuddles in close to Luke and brushes his hair out of his face, tucking it behind his ear and waiting for Luke to open his eyes.

They flutter open after a minute or so, still looking slightly dazed, wet and glassy and so beautiful. Luke smiles lazily at Ashton and stretches slightly before nuzzling his face into Ashton's chest. Ashton smiles when he hears Luke mumble something against his skin that he can’t quite make out.

“What was that?” he says softly, his fingers playing with the loose curls at the back of Luke’s neck.

“‘Said I’m happy,” Luke repeats, tilting his head up to kiss Ashton, his lips lingering for a moment before he pulls away and Ashton grins, nuzzling his nose against Luke’s fondly.

“Me too,” he says. 

“Also, I think you should get a cat,” Luke tells him, yawning.

“Oh?’ Ashton asks.

“Mhm. Something cuddly and cute I can visit when I come over,” Luke explains.

Ashton smiles, “I thought I filled that role just fine. But if you want a cat, you get a cat. I’ve actually been thinking about it for a while now.” Luke lets out a tired little ‘yay’ and closes his eyes, cuddling further into Ashton. Before he falls asleep, Ashton kisses his forehead and tells him, “I’m sorry we had to wait.”

Luke shakes his head slightly and in a sleepy voice he says, “I would have waited forever for you.”

Ashton would have, too. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> hi!!! feedback and comments are so very appreciated. also halfway through this i started thinking about writing this from Luke's perspective. if that's something people would be interested in reading, let me know!


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